We`re hitting the streets, proving there`s power in numbers

Transcription

SPRING 2014
AFSCME.ORG
GROWING
OUR UNION
We’re hitting the streets, proving there’s power in numbers
SEE PAGE 12
The Value of
Our Union
Do you remember what it felt like to sign your first AFSCME card?
You might have been carrying on a proud and familiar union family tradition. Maybe you
signed with a mixture of relief and excitement after a long, hard-won fight to unionize with your
new sisters and brothers.
Some of us though, if we’re being honest, may not remember what it felt like when we signed.
Perhaps it was an afterthought that simply seemed to make sense, or maybe we took for granted
what we were becoming a part of as an AFSCME member.
Now is the time to think about the significant value of our union. Like how it’s part
of an American labor movement that improves wages for all workers. Now is the time
to join together with our fellow AFSCME members to strengthen it. Because those who
oppose our fight for working people are banging down the door, most recently at the
U.S. Supreme Court (p10), to try to eradicate our union.
With the active participation of every single one of us and the help of 800
new volunteer member organizers (VMOs), we’re growing our
union in a bold new campaign called 50,000 Stronger (p12).
It will take every one of us recruiting a coworker, talking
to friends, family and neighbors about why they should join
a union, whether it’s AFSCME or one of our allies in the labor
movement.
Think about the power that came with your own AFSCME
card and think about what it will mean to the person you help
sign theirs for the first time.
CONTENTS
RESOURCES
AFSCME
Advantage card
protects you in
hard times. P9
COVER STORY:
50,000 STRONGER
NO MORE POLITICS AS
USUAL
MAKING A SPLASH WITH
INSOURCING
Growing the
union, one
member at a
time. P12
Everything’s
big in Texas,
especially our
AFSCME might.
P16
New York
lifeguards keep
public pool safer
than robber
barons. P22
PRESIDENT
Lee Saunders
INTERNATIONAL
VICE PRESIDENTS
SECRETARY-TREASURER
Laura Reyes
Ken Allen
PORTLAND, OREGON
Henry Bayer
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
Ken Deitz, RN
SAN DIMAS, CALIFORNIA
Greg Devereux
OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON
2
Danny Donohue
ALBANY, NEW YORK
Johanna Puno Hester
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA
Christopher Mabe
WESTERVILLE, OHIO
David Fillman
HARRISBURG,
PENNSYLVANIA
Danny Homan
DES MOINES, IOWA
Glenard Middleton Sr.
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND
Salvatore Luciano
NEW BRITAIN,
CONNECTICUT
Ralph Miller
LOS ANGELES,
CALIFORNIA
John Lyall
WORTHINGTON, OHIO
Michael Fox
HARRISBURG,
PENNSYLVANIA
Kathleen Garrison
LATHAM, NEW YORK
Raglan George Jr.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
Mattie Harrell
WILLIAMSTOWN, NEW
JERSEY
AFSCME WORKS SPRING 2014
VOICE FOR THE PEOPLE
Cash-backed
lawmakers
try to squash
working
families. Big
mistake. P25
Henry Nicholas
PHILADELPHIA,
PENNSYLVANIA
Eliot Seide
SOUTH ST. PAUL,
MINNESOTA
Randy Perreira
HONOLULU, HAWAII
Mary Sullivan
ALBANY, NEW YORK
Steven Quick
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA
Braulio Torres
SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO
Gary Mitchell
MADISON, WISCONSIN
Lillian Roberts
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
Jeanette Wynn
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA
Kathryn Lybarger
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA
Douglas Moore Jr.
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA
Eddie Rodriguez
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
Roberta Lynch
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
Frank Moroney
BOSTON,
MASSACHUSETTS
Lawrence Roehrig
LANSING, MICHIGAN
Gary Tavormina, Chair
Retiree Council
WOODBOURNE, NEW YORK
Joseph Rugola
COLUMBUS, OHIO
Online
at AFSCME.org
VMO Is the Way to Go!
Volunteer Member Organizers (VMOs) are AFSCME’s
frontline leaders when it comes to building our union.
Our VMOs travel the nation helping public employees
fight for their rights at work. If you are passionate about
AFSCME and you want to lend a hand to our organizing
efforts, use your smartphone to scan the QR code below.
Unions Work
Health care benefits. Pension at retirement. Salary
increases. Paid sick leave. Safety in the workplace. Unions
really do a lot to protect workers on the job. Keep us safe
from abuse and greed. Unions work because you do.
Visit AFSCME.org/unionswork
Anti-Unionol
View our playful video for Anti-Unionol, a revolutionary
new drug that reduces economic equality and eliminates a
strong middle class. More CEOs and billionaires
prescribe Anti-Unionol to their employees than
any other form of medication. Anti-Unionol is not
for everyone. Side effects include lower wages,
an insecure retirement and no paid leave. Acute
symptoms such as an unfair economy and less
economic opportunity may occur.
Visit Anti-Unionol.com
Like us on
facebook.com/afscme
Follow us on
twitter.com/afscme
Email us at
[email protected]
WORKS
OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE AMERICAN
FEDERATION OF STATE, COUNTY AND
MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES, AFL-CIO
PRODUCED BY THE AFSCME
COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT
Subscription to members only.
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR
Cover Photo: Christ Chavez
Cynthia McCabe
TOP PHOTO: ERIN YOUNG
DIRECTOR
Christopher Policano
Scan this code with
your smartphone’s
QR code app to
learn how you can
become a VMO.
Update your
info at my.afscme.org
WRITER/EDITORS
Joye Barksdale
David Card
Pablo Ros
Olivia Sandbothe
Clyde Weiss
EDITORIAL COORDINATOR
Tiffanie Bright
DESIGN
Groff Creative, LLC
www.groffcreative.com
AFSCME WORKS
(ISSN 1072-9992) is published
quarterly by the American
Federation of State, County and
Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO,
1625 L St., N.W., Washington, DC
20036-5687.
202.429.1145 Telephone
202.659.0446 TDD
202.429.1120 Fax
Periodical postage paid at
Washington, DC, and additional
mailing offices.
POSTMASTER, SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO:
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Website www.afscme.org
AFSCME.org
3
From the PRESIDENT
Americans Deserve Opportunity.
Our Opponents Want to Steal That.
You can’t turn on the TV or pick up a
newspaper without seeing something
about “income inequality,” the cavernous
financial gap between the haves and
the have-nots. We see the fallout. We’ve
watched neighborhoods become
impoverished as funding for public
services is siphoned to provide freebies for
the 1 percent. We’ve seen how tax cuts for
very wealthy people and corporations take
precedence over providing assistance to
working families in desperate need.
Finally, we’re not alone in speaking out
about this trend. But why does it command so much attention now? And what
can we do?
THE NATIONAL
CONVERSATION
“This is not about
income envy.
It’s about the
hollowing-out of the
middle class.”
4
Income inequality is part of the national
conversation at this time because of its
sheer magnitude. Everyone from President
Obama to Pope Francis is discussing it. Our
nation always had rich people, poor people,
and people somewhere in the vast middle.
The desire to move from one rung on the socio-economic ladder to a higher one fueled
our ambitions. But in the post-recession
“recovery,” so much wealth is concentrated
in the investment portfolios of the superrich that it puts a drag on our economy.
Since the Great Recession, nearly
95 percent of our nation’s income gains
went to the wealthiest 1 percent. Annual
incomes for those in the top 1 percent
average $27 million, 540 times the national
average income.
This is not about “income envy.” It’s
about the hollowing-out of the middle
class. We all need to be concerned; our nation cannot get stronger if so much money
keeps flowing out of workers’ pockets and
into Donald Trump’s.
SHARING IN WEALTH WE CREATE
The fact is, America is richer than ever
and working people deserve to share in
that wealth. The extremist politicians and
pundits want us to believe the super-rich
got where they are through smarts and talent alone. But the truth is they had a lot of
help along the way – and some of it came
from the members of AFSCME and other
workers from Alaska to Hawaii, and New
York to California.
Corporations and the very wealthy
use infrastructure built and maintained
by workers. They benefit from tax policies
that give them a lift. The politicians who
support this gigantic tax heist are the same
ones whose enthusiastic union-busting
makes it harder for workers to organize
and bargain. It’s not by accident the rich
get richer. It’s by design.
But we can help rebuild the middle
class. We will press politicians to raise the
federal minimum wage, which is worth
less today than it was in 1968. We will
fight right-to-work-for-less laws and other
union-busting tactics that weaken collective bargaining.
Generations of working families
worked hard and sacrificed so their children and grandchildren could pursue the
American Dream. Their hopes and ambitions deserve our activism and solidarity.
Lee Saunders
President
PHOTO: KIRA HORVATH
F r o m t h e S E C R E TA R Y- T R E A S U R E R
It’s Time to Get Active,
and Grow Our Union.
Job security. Better wages and benefits. A
voice in the workplace. There are plenty
of good reasons to belong to a union. But
being an AFSCME member means more
than the benefits we get through the
strength of collective bargaining. We must
also be involved in our union.
That means getting active. It means
explaining our mission and values to
unorganized workers and encouraging
them to join. It means helping our sisters
and brothers when they fall on hard times.
It means knocking on doors to tell our
neighbors about a candidate who will support working families. It means attending
meetings, making phone calls and writing
letters.
It can be difficult to find the time.
When we aren’t Making America Happen,
we’re making dinner for our families and
trying to make it to the PTA meeting.
But, sisters and brothers, faced with
some of the greatest challenges in our
77-year history, we must ask ourselves this
simple question: What can I do?
In this issue of WORKS, you will read
about AFSCME members who are helping
to strengthen our union in big and small
ways.
ORGANIZE
You’ll read about David Luera, a home
care provider who is organizing fee payers
for his union, United Domestic Workers/
AFSCME Local 3930.
There are more than 150,000 workers
who pay fees to AFSCME locals across the
country but who are not yet members.
They can make us stronger right now.
AFSCME and leaders from more than 100
locals committed to an ambitious internal
organizing campaign to bring these fee
PHOTO: HEATHER SHELLY
payers into the family. Our goal is to sign
up 50,000 by the convention in July. 50,000
Stronger!
There is one key to achieving this goal:
you! We are training 800 volunteer member
organizers (VMOs) – members like you –
to reach out and talk to fee payers about
our union. It was volunteering to organize
members in my hometown of San Diego
that brought me closer to the AFSCME
family. I can tell you firsthand that it is a
very gratifying experience.
BUILD POLITICAL POWER
There are other ways to get active, too.
You’ll read about Yvonne Flores, Local
1624. Yvonne, who works at the Travis
County, Texas Department of Health and
Human Services, is the mother of two boys
and still finds time to volunteer at a phone
bank to turn out voters for the Texas primary elections.
This year every member of the House of
Representatives, 36 senators and 36 governors are up for re-election. We can’t waste
this opportunity to elect new leaders who
will protect pensions, fight outsourcing,
and stop the cuts to vital public services.
Sisters and brothers, AFSCME members have always been up to the challenge. In these troubling times, it’s more
important than ever that we get active, get
involved and fight with a renewed spirit.
Together, we will do it.
“In these troubling
times, it’s more
important than
ever that we
get active, get
involved and fight
with a renewed
spirit.”
Laura Reyes
Secretary-Treasurer
AFSCME.org
5
FYI
News you need, in brief
86
15
%
%
Between 1993 and 2012, incomes of
the top 1 percent rose 86 percent,
compared to just under 7 percent
for the remaining 99 percent of U.S.
wage earners, say economists at
U.C. Berkeley.
Cash bonuses to Wall Street
employees in New York City rose
15 percent, on average, in 2013 (to
$164,530), according to New York
state Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.
This is the largest average bonus
paid to these workers since 2007, just
before the financial collapse of the
U.S. economy. No wonder income
inequality is getting wider.
85 3 10
3.5
Billion 200
%
To 1 35
1,000
%
1%
95
Versus
Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and 83 of the
world’s other billionaires own more
of the planet’s wealth than roughly
3.5 billion people at the other end of
the wealth scale, according
to a study by Oxfam
International.
Equals
The richest 1 percent of Americans
captured 95 percent of post-financial
crisis growth since 2009, reports
Oxfam International. As for the
rest of us? The bottom 90 percent
became poorer.
In
That’s how many people live in
countries where economic inequality
hasn’t increased at all over the past 30
years. That’s 30 percent!
The average CEO in America
received about 20 times as much
compensation as the typical
worker in his firm during the 1950s.
Today, the pay ratio at Fortune 500
companies is more than 200 to one.
Some CEOs did even better.
$
The growing wealth gap in America
will have a significant impact on
people as we reach retirement age.
About 36 percent of workers have
less than $1,000 socked away in
savings and investments that could
be used for retirement, not counting
the value of a home or pensions (if
you’re lucky enough to have one).
Just 60 percent have less than
$25,000.
To read more, visit AFSCME.org/fyi
6
PHOTOS FROM LOWER LEFT: JSTONE / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM; OHMEGA1982;
MYKHAYLO PALINCHAK; RONFROMYORK
We Are AFSCME
Howard Patterson
Courier, Louisville Public Library, Louisville, Ky., Local 3425
Tell us about your work?
I’m a courier and driver for the Louisville Public Library. I transport books,
interoffice mail, anything they put out for me to pick up. I’m also basically
the garbage man. I’ve been doing it for 18 years.
Why did you join the union?
I’ve been involved with the union ever since I got over here. With the
policies around here you need somebody backing you up. Without the
union they would do whatever they want to do.
What would you say to other members to get them more involved?
We’re trying to get people to understand why we need the union. We have
a lot of members at the library, but they don’t always come to the meeting.
Management sees that, and that’s how they decide how strong we are. We
all need to be more vocal. Instead of keeping your ideas to yourself, you
have to voice your opinion. If you see something wrong, you need to open
your mouth and do something about it.
Phyllis Zamarripa
Amy Simmons
Principal Account Clerk
President, CSEA Local 845
St. Lawrence County, N.Y.
DONOR
St. Lawrence is the biggest county in
New York and we have the highest
unemployment rate. Where I live, we
had a zinc mine and a talc mine. In
Massena they had a huge GM plant
that’s closed now. Last fall our unemployment rate was about 9.1 percent.
It’s gone down a little, but that’s
because about 1,600 people dropped off the unemployment rolls. Not because they found jobs but their benefits
ran out. I work in the Department of Social Services and
we see a lot of people that just have nothing.
Working Together on Community Issues
We’re doing a new program through CSEA called
Strong Communities Work. We try to get everyone in the
community to get together and support jobs. It’s not just
the unions. We want to get the city, the mayor, everybody. I’m also involved with Central Trades and Labor
Council for St. Lawrence, Lewis and Jefferson Counties.
It’s all different unions working together on all kinds of
issues. For example, if CSEA has an issue we might ask
everyone to come to a board meeting and support us. We
all help each other.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: SONDRA MORRIS; BRYAN KELSEN; FAMILY PHOTO
President, Colorado Chapter 76 Retirees
How did you get involved with the union?
I’ve been a member of AFSCME since 1965, but I wasn’t active
until 1970. I was on vacation and they fired me and I didn’t find
out ‘til I got back. And that fired me up!
What are you doing now that you’re retired?
Right now I am the president of Colorado Chapter
76 Retirees. I organized that chapter, myself and
a few others. I’ve been active with that since
the get-go. We are really active in legislation,
supporting those who support us in the
political process.
What would you say to other retirees?
We think that once we completed working
we’re ready to relax, but we have to be
watchful of the benefits that we
earned. There is legislation to
take that away from us. That’s
true of our health care and
other benefits through
the union. We have to
organize. When we work
together as a union we
can win. The same is
true with retirees.
AFSCME.org
7
Organizing
for power
FROM STATE TO STATE, WORKERS ARE JOINING AFSCME
FOR A STRONGER VOICE ON THE JOB
Unfairness Spurs Connecticut
Hospital Workers to
Vote ‘Union-Yes!’
WATERBURY, CONN. – The unfairness was just too much for 153 technical
employees of Waterbury Hospital. Their time-off benefits were cut but those of
their union-represented coworkers were not.
That’s when they set out to join AFSCME. But their employer had other ideas.
It took five months to overcome their employer’s legal roadblocks to gain a
voice on the job through Connecticut Health Care Associates (CHCA), an affiliate
of the National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees (NUHHCE)/
AFSCME, which also represents 400 nurses at Waterbury Hospital.
CHCA Pres. Barbara Simonetta, RN, says the technical employees, “wanted
to join the union because the employer cut their paid time off by 10 to 15 days,”
assuring them they would also do the same to union-represented employees at
the hospital.
But it didn’t quite work out that way. When the union members’ time-off
benefits stayed intact after their contract negotiations, the unrepresented
workers realized the inequity. They decided they, too, wanted to join CHCA. “That
was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” Simonetta says.
They voted last July to join CHCA. Their overwhelming vote should have been
automatic, but their employer appealed, contending that four of them could
not join the union because they were supervisors. CHCA challenged the appeal
and – five months later – the National Labor Relations Board backed the union,
concluding there was no proof those employees had supervisory authority.
Their vote to join CHCA was “a major victory,” Simonetta says. It was also just
in time, as another company – Tenet Healthcare Corp. of Texas – planned to take
over their hospital.
“Before any for-profit
conversions or spinoffs
are allowed, we must
have protections in
place to protect quality
care and ensure that
these hospitals are
responsible employers,
not profiteers,” says
AFSCME Connecticut
Council 4 Exec. Dir.
Salvatore Luciano, also
an AFSCME International
vice president.
To read more,
visit AFSCME.org/OFP
8
Workers are also organizing with
AFSCME in other states. Here is a
look at some recent victories:
ARKANSAS
T
wenty-four Public Works employees
of Forrest City gained representation
with Council 38 through a card-check
agreement.
IOWA
A
pproximately 450 state education
employees voted to be represented
by Council 61 in the largest bargaining
unit election won by the council since
the 1990s. Members of the unit – which
includes teachers in state institutions and
librarians – reached out to the council
to learn about organizing. Although the
vote was challenged, the workers won on
appeal. Also, 13 planners, inspectors and
engineers of the City of Des Moines voted
unanimously to join Council 61.
MINNESOTA
F
orty-six Brooklyn Park firefighters
joined Council 5, the first union
election ever for part-time firefighters
in Minnesota. Earlier, 22 part-time
firefighters for the City of Roseville also
joined the council through majority signup. The unit was the first in the state to
unionize under a ruling allowing part-time
firefighters to organize if they work at
least 14 hours a week, on average. Also,
26 employees of Jackson County’s Human
Services Department, and 21 employees
of the Becker County Developmental
Achievement Center joined Council 65.
OREGON
T
wo-hundred and sixty members of the
Yamhill County Employees Association
(YCEA) voted to join Council 75. During
the past few years, the association
determined it needed to strengthen its
bargaining power and turned to Council
75, which worked in partnership with
YCEA since 2006.
PHOTO: SPOTMATIK
Resources
AFSCME membership has many advantages
Check out some of the great resources
available through our union.
AFSCME
Advantage
Credit Card
Offers New
Assistance
Benefits
With its 0 percent intro APR and 1.5 percent cash back rewards, the AFSCME
Advantage credit card is always a smart choice for union members and their
families. And now that AFSCME Advantage offers improved hardship assistance
grants to cardholders, it’s a better time than ever to apply.
If you’re injured and can’t work, your options can dry up fast. Gerhard Vogel
of Local 3937 (Council 5) in Minneapolis found that out the hard way when he
broke his foot last year.
A proud 18-year AFSCME member, Vogel spends hours each day carrying
equipment and climbing up and down ladders to
make critical repairs at a Minnesota university. “I
have to be mobile to do my job,” he says.
First, Vogel used up all his available sick leave.
Then he went through his vacation pay. He was
eligible to receive short-term disability payments,
but those were only for half his pay. “I was getting
desperate,” he says. “I went through all my savings. I
could have lost everything.”
That’s when Vogel learned about the assistance
available to eligible AFSCME Advantage
cardholders. “I had to read it twice,” he says. “I
almost couldn’t believe it. But it sounded like it was
for exactly what I was facing, because I was going
through severe hardship.”
Union Plus Assistance provides a range
of unique programs to help eligible AFSCME
Advantage cardholders who face hardship.
Disability grants of $1,600 to $2,700 are available
to cardholders who had the AFSCME Advantage
card for three months or more and who meet the
Gerhard Vogel, Minnesota
eligibility requirements.
Council 5, Local 3937
Do you carry an AFSCME Advantage Credit
Card? There are three cards including a Cash Rewards, Rate Advantage and a
new Credit Access card that may provide additional credit if the card is used
responsibly. All three cards feature disability, job loss and hospital grants for
eligible cardholders, plus a competitive rate, and all customer service calls are
answered in the U.S.
You can learn more by visiting AFSCMEcard.com.
PHOTO: STEVE WOLT
AFSCME.org
9
5
THINGS
YOU NEED to
KNOW
ABOUT the
ATTACKS
on WORKERS’
FREEDOMS
By Pablo Ros
1
OUR UNION FACES AN
UNPRECEDENTED EFFORT
TO ELIMINATE OUR RIGHTS.
For more than 40 years, the National
Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation
tried to prevent hardworking American
women and men from collectively bargaining for better wages and benefits.
By forming unions and paying dues,
working people pool their resources as
a way to counter balance the vast corporate resources that don’t always have
our interests in mind. Right to Work understands this is the most effective way
for workers to advocate for themselves
and their goal is to stop collective advocacy. Right-to-work schemes – what we
call right-to-work-for-less schemes – are
intended to destroy unions by attacking the ability of workers to fund union
activity with their dues.
In thousands of cases, including
a dozen or so that reached the U.S.
Supreme Court, the Right to Work
Foundation, a front group for corporate
interests and right-wing extremists,
aimed straight at the heart of American
democracy by seeking to silence
10
workers’ voices on the job.
Their latest attempt is Harris v.
Quinn, a case that was argued before
the U.S. Supreme Court in January and
is like a weapon of mass destruction
aimed at public sector unions. It
represents “the most far-reaching
existential threat we ever faced as a
union,” says Pres. Lee Saunders.
2
HARRIS V. QUINN DOESN’T
JUST TARGET HOME CARE
PROVIDERS – IT TARGETS ALL
WORKERS.
At stake in Harris v. Quinn is the very
ability of public sector unions to engage
in collective bargaining activities. The
Right to Work Foundation’s argument
is that government workers should not
be able to come together and negotiate
over their wages, benefits and other
conditions of employment, simply
because they are in public service.
It’s already the law that “fair share”
payers can avoid paying the portion of
union dues that cover expenditures for
ideological causes. But this would go
even further.
“It is an attempt by the National Right
to Work Committee to undermine the
very foundations of public service trade
unionism,” President Saunders says.
“Not only is Right to Work following its
usual program of attacking fair share
fees, it also asks the Supreme Court to
rule on the right of independent providers to bargain collectively with states.”
3
WARNING: THERE IS
RADICAL CHANGE AHEAD.
At the U.S. Supreme Court hearing in
January, the Right to Work lawyer, William
Messenger, claimed that deducting union
dues from a public employee’s paycheck
for the purposes of collective bargaining is a violation of that public worker’s
freedom of speech. His argument raised a
few eyebrows among the judges, but not
as many as it should have.
“It is a radical argument,” Justice
Elena Kagan said in response. “It would
radically restructure the way workplaces
across this country are run.”
“Since the Taft-Hartley-Act,” Kagan
continued, “there has been a debate in
every state across this country about
whether to be a right-to-work state,
and people have disagreed. Some
states say yes, some states say no. It
raises considerable heat and passion
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: ENSUPER
Supreme Court case could
reverse the gains public
workers achieved through
collective bargaining.
and tension, as we recently saw in
Wisconsin. But, you know, these are
public policy choices that states make.”
Harris v. Quinn is in fact about
freedom of speech and freedom of
association. It is about the freedom
of millions of home care providers in
our nation, many of whom already
democratically chose to organize their
union, to have a voice on the job, to
speak out for our consumers and
improve our ability to provide quality
services, and to collectively defend our
rights as public employees.
4
WOMEN ARE AT RISK.
There is also an implicit sexist
agenda in Harris v. Quinn, to prevent
women’s earnings from catching up
to those of men. In fact, of the nearly
2 million home health care providers
in our nation, more than 90 percent of
them are women.
Should the court side with the Right
to Work lobby, we and other public sector unions could lose several hundred
thousand members overnight. But
what’s worse is that home care workers, many of whom are women with
families of their own who must rely on
PHOTO: DAVID BACON
government assistance to make ends
meet, would lose their voice on the job
and be at greater risk of further falling
into poverty.
5
THESE ATTACKS ON
WORKERS’ RIGHTS ARE
COORDINATED.
Many of the attacks against public
workers and their families come from
the same source. Although they do
their best to hide their donors, groups
like the Right to Work Committee or
the better-known American Legislative
Exchange Council (ALEC) are funded
by the super wealthy to further enrich
themselves at the expense of the
American middle class.
Two of these major funders are the
billionaire Koch brothers, Charles and
David, who are owners of Koch Industries and on the list of America’s top air
polluters. The money they spend on
buying politicians at all levels of government shows no sign of slowing down.
In the 2012 elections, the Koch brothers
spent $413 million, more than 2.5 times
the combined spending of the top 10
labor unions.
And their efforts are far from unsuccessful. In Wisconsin, for example, where
AFSCME members lost their collective
bargaining rights, nearly half of state
legislators voted with the ALEC agenda
100 percent of the time in 2011-2012.
Send comments to [email protected]
IN RIGHT-TO-WORK STATES, YOU’RE MORE LIKELY TO…
Earn less Workers earn about $1,500 less per year. Be uninsured by your employer The rate of employer-sponsored health
insurance is 2.6 percentage points lower.
Be unemployed Eight of the 12 states with the highest unemployment rates
have right-to-work laws on the books.
Be killed on the job The rate of workplace deaths is 52.9 percent higher in
right-to-work states.
SOURCES: ECONOMIC POLICY INSTITUTE AND U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
AFSCME.org
11
GOAL:
50,000
STRONGER
AFSCME LAUNCHES MASSIVE ORGANIZING CAMPAIGN TO
BUILD STRENGTH, FIGHT FOR BETTER WAGES AND RIGHTS
By Clyde Weiss
RIVERSIDE, CALIF. – Anna Cota greets David
at my other part-time job,” she said.
Luera outside her Southern California home,
Luera hands her a card for Cota to sign so she can become a
basking in the warm sun for a minute before the
member of UDW. Cota expresses relief that the union will work to
visit. Both are home care providers. But they have
preserve and improve the benefits she receives for her hard work.
more than their professional responsibilities in
“We do need more hours. It’s just not enough,” she said, tears
common, even if Cota doesn’t realize that yet.
beginning to flow.
Once inside, Luera sits on the couch and explains
She puts the pen to the card and adds her signature.
how they’re both represented by United Domestic
Workers (UDW) Homecare Providers Union/
LIFTING WAGES FOR ALL
AFSCME Local 3930.
This story of home care providers building a union is just one of
“I never joined the union,” said Cota.
many within AFSCME. This effort involves all public service workers
“That’s why we’re here,” replied Luera. It turns
represented by our union. They’re engaged because AFSCME memout, Cota’s been paying something known as an
bers know that collective bargaining improves wages and benefits.
“agency fee” to our union for representation. The fee
It’s a key component in closing the gap between the ultra-wealthy
is the same as full union dues, but there’s a critical
and the rest of us – the “income inequality” gap – that threatens to
difference in California. Without being a member,
engulf the middle class the way a massive sinkhole can swallow a
Cota can’t receive direct political comhouse.
munications from the union. And
There is abundant evidence that unions lift all workers’ wages.
without them, there’s no way for
“Workers’ ability to form unions and engage in collective bargaining
Cota to know that UDW is actively
has been a cornerstone of a strong middle class,” said U.S. Secretary
fighting a reduction in hours that
of Labor Thomas E. Perez.
resulted in lost pay for her and all
It takes a strong union to stand
the home care providers like her.
up and win a contract that respects
Cota listened carefully and then
the work we all do. That’s why, this
she explained to Luera how difficult it is to
spring, AFSCME unveiled a new
care for her mother on just $11.50 an hour – for
campaign called “50,000 Stronger.”
a maximum of four hours a day. She had to drive
A top priority for our union, this is a
a school bus part-time just to make ends meet.
new drive to sign up tens of thouHer voice breaks. “I’m lucky I got married
sands of new members, building
—Mike Mosesso, Pennsylvania
last year or I would have had to keep working
greater power in places where workCouncil 13, Local 2622
“The fight
is now on our
doorstep.”
12
ers are already represented by AFSCME.
In California, for example, UDW represents approximately 65,000 home care workers.
“In UDW, we have a culture of organizing new
members,” says Exec. Dir. Doug Moore, also an
AFSCME International vice president. “Through
these efforts – along with building strong community relationships – we can collectively fight back
the continued attacks on working families and
make real improvements in our members’ lives.”
With the help of volunteer member organizers
(VMOs) like Luera, and the use of technology like
iPads to assist their efforts, this AFSCME affiliate
is growing even more powerful by calling to action
new members like Cota, who pay fair-share fees (in
some states slightly less than full membership), but
who have yet to become members.
Two years ago, the hours of paid care that a
provider could give were reduced in California by
approximately 8 percent. For Luera, who was already
living on a tight budget, it was painful. “It means a
lot to me, especially when we’re just barely making
it now,” he said. “I’m looking for other employment
as well. I’m trying to seek out more caregiving.”
Meanwhile, he hopes that, through UDW, he and his
union sisters and brothers can work to restore those
cuts, and maybe even increase his compensation for
caring for his wife’s elderly aunt.
“She had no one else to depend on now,” he says.
Keeping her out of an institution means finding a
way to keep her at home. Luera and his wife are both
caregivers now.
With a stronger union, he says, perhaps the governor and state lawmakers in Sacramento will listen.
“If it’s just two people going up to Sacramento to
Natasha Gordon (right), Riverside home caregiver and
member of UDW/AFSCME Local 3930, makes a visit
to a fellow home care provider to explain the power of
solidarity.
PHOTO TOP: ERIKA PAZ; BOTTOM; IOWA COUNCIL 61
Riverside home care provider David Luera, a member of UDW/ AFSCME Local
3930, reaches out to Anna Cota. Also a home caregiver, Cota began to cry
contemplating the difficulty of making ends meet on meager earnings. The
union will work to increase the number of hours for which caregivers can be
compensated. Below right: “I would like to tell people to come and join with
us,” says Norma Barajas, a Riverside home care provider and UDW member
who visited providers in February to get them to sign up with UDW.
petition Governor (Jerry) Brown,
that’s nothing. We need hundreds
of people to show there is a force
concerned about the cuts.”
Natasha Gordon, also a
Riverside home caregiver, is part
of that force. Also out visiting
non-member caregivers as part
of the new organizing campaign,
she is motivated by providing the
best care for her autistic 15-yearold son. She wants to keep him at
home so he can have the life – and
opportunities – he won’t get at an
institution.
But it’s been hard for a single
mother living on an income of
$11.50 an hour, limited to just a
few hours a day. “Without Social
Security I couldn’t do it,” she says.
By volunteering to increase UDW’s membership through organizing, Gordon wants to make her union stronger so it can help
them achieve their goals. “I’m doing it to get the word out in regards
to how mobilizing benefits us.”
Norma Barajas, a UDW member for the past three years, cares for
her mother and brother. She would need to work outside the house
if her hours are cut more. That’s why she’s out door-knocking too. “I
know they can help me,” she says of her fellow union members.
“I would like to tell people to come and join with us,” Barajas
says, so they will gain the benefits she already has. Most imporAFSCME.org
13
tantly, that means the power that comes from direct involvement with a union that fights for them
every day.
POWER IN NUMBERS
Hathaway says he tells everyone at the Classification Center,
“You’re now entered into a field controlled by politics. You can either
be a player in that, or stand on the sidelines and see what happens
to you. I choose to be a player. I stay involved so I have a voice.”
Others are joining him.
Marty Hathaway, president of Local 2985 (Iowa
IT’S ALL ABOUT FAIRNESS
Council 61), knows about the power of unions to
Mike Mosesso doesn’t need to be reminded why it’s important
increase wages and benefits. As a member of his
to
organize.
A president of Local 2622 (Pennsylvania Council 13), he
council’s executive board, he also understands that
sees
those
reasons
every day.
it takes VMOs to build and maintain that power.
The
council
is
already
engaged in organizing externally under
A longtime corrections officer at the Iowa
AFSCME’s
“Power
to
Win”
Initiative, a national program launched in
Medical and Classification Center in Oakdale, Iowa,
2006
to
organize
new
members,
spur member activism and increase
Hathaway was in the middle of our union’s fight
political
power.
Activists
are
currently
strengthening the union’s
there last year against the anti-worker policies of
foundation
by
engaging
fair
share
fee
payers.
Gov. Terry Branstad. A wage freeze, reduced health
Mosesso is a leader in that effort.
coverage and a hike in insurance premiums were on
In his day job, he is an intake caseworker for the Office of
the governor’s agenda; and he even campaigned on a
Children,
Youth and Families of the Allegheny County Department
pledge to require state employees to pay 20 percent
of
Human
Services. Mosesso investigates the alleged maltreatment
of their health insurance premiums.
and
neglect
of children. In his union job, he looks out for the rights
To win, they set out to increase the union’s
of
workers
in
various agencies spread throughout the county.
membership. More members mean even more
That
means
both “full-dues paying” or “fair-share” workers, who
fighters to stand up to the governor. This is how they
pay
a
half-percent
less fees for their representation than regular
succeeded.
AFSCME
members
pay as dues. Mosesso says it makes common
First, they appointed
sense
to
have
as
many
fully engaged union members as possible
a committee of correcwhen
heading
into
contract
negotiations.
tions officers, both old and
“When
we
sit
down
to
negotiate
our contract, we want the
young, to get the perspeccounty
to
understand
that
our
numbers
are strong, that we have as
tives of different generamany
people
as
possible
on
board”
who
are
standing together to detions. Then they created an
mand
a
“reasonable
living
wage
for
the
work
they do for the citizens
action plan to fight the 20
of
this
county.
”
percent insurance increase,
Their internal organizing drive began last summer, using a
which amounted to a pay
strategy
developed within Council 13 that was successful, and
cut. They created a flyer
which
continues
today. “We looked at ways to re-engage our curto send to members and
Marty Hathaway,
rent
members,
and
to go out and reach the fair-share folks as well,”
non-members, explaining
Iowa Council 61,
Mosesso
said.
the governor’s scheme. “We
Local 2985 president
“We’ve always made a point to
were saying, ‘This is what’s
engage
the fair-share members,”
going to happen to you unless you join
he
said.
Before, however, there
us,’” Hathaway said.
was
no
“official
framework” for
They also worked with Council 61 and
that
task.
other AFSCME Iowa locals to create the
The need to grow the union,
“Not OK” button, meaning “it was not OK
internally
and externally, is
to lie down.” Members wore them at work.
significant.
As proof, he pointed
Non-members asked what they meant.
to
the
union-busting
efforts of
Those buttons – and the questions they
Wisconsin
Gov.
Scott
Walker and
raised – helped bring co-workers into the
Ohio
Gov.
John
Kasich,
who tried
union. They continue to organize today
(successfully,
in
Walker’s
case) to
because the next fight is right around the
destroy
the
collective
bargaining
corner. “There is a movement in the nation
rights of public service workers
to bring down unions so that we’re not so
in their states. “The fight is now
powerful,” Hathaway said. But with VMOs
on our doorstep,” Mosesso said.
helping to increase union strength through
“It’s a very real threat, and it’s
numbers, tearing down unions will be
Orlando Rivera, Jr. (left) of DC 37 with care
something
we’ll have to address.
much harder – perhaps impossible.
attendant Kevon Short
14
PHOTO TOP: LOCAL 2985 (IOWA COUNCIL 61); BOTTOM: ORLANDO RIVERA, JR.
We need as many people on
board as possible to show our
politicians and legislative representatives that we are not in
favor of being a right-to-workfor-less state.”
His coworkers “provide
some very key services for
Allegheny County,” he said. “It’s
important their right to work
for a reasonable wage – and
the rights protected through a
contract – remain intact.”
Building a stronger union, he
said, can ensure that happens.
NEXT WAVE VMOS
AFSCME Next Wave members in St. Louis recently signed
up at least 46 new members for
the Missouri Home Care Union,
AFSCME Council 72, which last
year began negotiating its first
contract.
The effort was part of an
UDW/AFSCME Local 3930 VMOs
organizing training for volunLocal 3168, Council 65. “Minnesota could be the next
stand in solidarity, ready to
teer member organizers (VMOs) bring more home care providers
Wisconsin. What we did this week is an example of getto the AFSCME family.
during the Next Wave National
ting on the frontlines and getting it done.”
Advisory Committee meeting
MacArthur Jackson, Jr., a new member of the
held in late February. Some 800 VMOs will be trained
Missouri Home Care Union, said it was “an honor” to be “part of a
in the weeks ahead as part of AFSCME’s “50,000
national force for workers,” adding, “It takes people getting involved
Stronger” campaign to boost AFSCME’s memberto get it done, and an army of people can do it.”
ship ranks.
“We’re standing on common ground,” said Next
ORGANIZE!
Waver Orlando Rivera, Jr., of Local 371, DC 37, in
Sonia Islas and Gabriel Guerra, both members of Local 59 in El
New York City. “It’s the same fight everywhere, and
Paso, Texas, made home visits to co-workers this February to orgaorganizing members is what makes us all stronger.”
nize for power. In their state, where it is illegal for non-uniformed
The state’s 13,000 Medicaid-funded home care
public sector workers to have a union contract, or to negotiate over
attendants gained the right to have their own union
wages and benefits, power means political strength. And that means
in 2008 when voters overwhelmingly approved a
strength through numbers.
measure giving them the freedom to bargain for
Both Islas and Guerra are probation officers for the West
improved client care and working conditions.
Texas Community Supervision and Corrections Department. Others
In 2009 they formed the Missouri Home Care
represented by the union work for the Lower Valley Water District.
Union, a partnership between AFSCME Council
The two are also VMOs, building their union through organizing to
72 and the Service Employees International Union
better fight for fair treatment, to ensure decent working conditions,
(SEIU). A legal battle ensued, resulting in a state
and to protect their civil service rights.
Supreme Court decision in 2012 that ordered the
It boils down to dignity on the job.
state to certify the union election. Today, they are at
“It’s an honor to be a member of this union,” she said.
the bargaining table as they continue to build union
“We’re not just members of a club. It’s a way of life. Now, I couldn’t
membership.
see my life not being a union member. It’s important. It gives you a
Next Waver Todd Weyer understands the ursense of purpose, a sense of security, knowing there are other brothgency of the new organizing campaign. “Big busiers and sisters looking out for each other.”
ness and the politicians are focused on taking down
—Joe Lawrence contributed to this story.
working people,” said Weyer, a member of Minnesota
PHOTO: UDW/AFSCME LOCAL 3930
AFSCME.org
15
DON’T
MESS WITH
AFSCME:
Texas Members
Get Organized for
Political Change
16
IN THE SHADOW OF A
MUCH-ANTICIPATED
GOVERNOR’S RACE,
TEXAS WORKERS –
ESPECIALLY AFSCME’S
YOUNGEST MEMBERS
-- ARE BUILDING A
MOVEMENT.
By Olivia Sandbothe
Y
vonne Flores is busy. When
she’s not working at the
Travis County Department
of Health and Human Services in
Austin, she’s taking care of her two
boys, attending school and serving
as an executive board member
at AFSCME Local 1624. On this
particular day in February, she’s on
her way to the IBEW hall to help with
a phone bank to turn out voters for
the upcoming primary elections.
Two days earlier, Flores returned
from the Harvard Trade Union
Program, an intensive six-week
training for labor leaders from
around the world. It was difficult to
fit the program into her schedule,
but she found a way, and now
she’s fired up to bring some new
organizing tactics back to Texas.
She’s working with other union
members to elect worker-friendly
candidates in Travis County. “We’ve
been doing a lot of phone banking
and a lot of block-walking. I told
everybody, we all need to commit to
putting in two hours a week.”
AFSCME members work for
local political causes all the time, but
this year there’s something different
in the air in Texas. Wendy Davis is
running for governor, and Flores
and her fellow volunteers are visibly
excited for what might be the most
watched election in the Lone Star
State in recent years. Davis, a single
mother from Fort Worth, drew national
attention last year when she led an
11-hour filibuster in the state Senate.
But can a progressive like Davis really
win in a conservative stronghold
like Texas? “Everyone thought [late
governor] Ann Richards didn’t have a
chance in hell,” Flores says. “I wouldn’t
be doing this if I weren’t 100 percent
convinced it could happen.”
BIG HOPES FOR A BLUE
TEXAS
It’s one thing to bring people out
for a single high-profile election. But
what AFSCME and allies are trying
to do is build a base that will keep
turning out to vote, year after year.
“People don’t take the time to look at
the small elections at the local, county,
and state level, but that’s where they’re
killing us,” says Flores.
Lack of voter involvement is a
major obstacle to change in the state.
A University of Texas study shows the
state has the lowest overall turnout
rate in the nation, with an average
36 percent of eligible voters casting
ballots. While Texas has the reputation
of being deeply conservative, it’s an
open question what the state would
look like if everyone actually went
to the polls. The population here is
younger and faster-growing than
the national average. And Latinos,
who lean Democratic, make up 38
percent of the population and rising.
Many Democratic activists are now
taking the bet that this red state could
soon be purple or even blue. The
recently-formed political action group
Battleground Texas trains thousands of
volunteers to motivate the progressive
base, with a focus on Latino voters.
The governor’s race will be an
important opportunity to push back
against an anti-worker
agenda that was long
uncontested. Texas
is already a so-called
“right-to-work” state
with laws that undermine
union organizing and
bargaining. Workers found
themselves up against a
wall of opposition in the
Statehouse in recent years. Under
Gov. Rick Perry, the state slashed
education and social services funding.
Things will only get worse if Perry
is succeeded by the Republican
gubernatorial candidate, Greg Abbott.
Abbott proposed cutting public
pension benefits and placing even
harsher limits on the state’s funding
for public services.
But even under this pressure,
unions found a way to survive. The key
is strong organization and a focus on
alliances with local partners. “We’ve
accomplished some good things on a
local level,” says Joe Hamill, AFSCME’s
Texas political coordinator. “Our
people in Houston secured collective
bargaining with the city a few years
Wendy Davis (left) faces Greg Abbot (right) in this year’s governor’s
race. (Below) Members of Local 1624’s Next Wave chapter.
PHOTO: OLIVIA SANDBOTHE; TOP FROM CAMPAIGN WEBSITES
AFSCME.org
17
Don’t Mess With AFSCME (continued)
ago; the only city in Texas to do
so. Statewide, we have been able
to protect our corrections officers’
pensions and secure their pay
raises.”
A NEW GENERATION
MAKES WAVES
Austin is a striking example
of the way that unions can wield
political influence at the local level
even in a hostile state. Six out of
the seven members of the Austin
City Council are AFSCME members,
as are 80 percent of Travis County
elected officials. Last year, a city
ballot initiative established civil
service rights for all city employees
and established a Municipal Civil
Service Commission. Since then,
Local 1624 works closely with the
city to draft better rules governing
hiring, representation, and grievance
procedures.
“We’re just doing the same
thing as any union in a right-to-work
state,” says Jason Lopez, an Austin
city employee and an activist with
Next Wave, AFSCME’s group for new
and young union members. “We’re
trying to organize internally and raise
our profile in the community.”
Lopez is one of a number of
young workers in Austin who see
a bright future for the union. Next
Wave meetings here usually draw
a small crowd, and involvement
is growing. At a meeting here in
February, everyone is making phone
calls to new employees who joined
Local 1624 — several hundred just
this quarter. They found that by
reaching out to people early on, they
can strengthen participation. It’s just
one way that young workers are
getting involved here. Lopez says
Next Wave also works on improving
union communications and building
partnerships with other local labor
groups.
Yvonne Flores, who is also
active with Next Wave, hopes the
“millennial generation” born after
1980 will help turn the tide in Texas.
“There are three groups whose faces
we need to see at the polls, and
those are women, minorities, and
millenials. The millenials especially
tend to be very engaged.”
That’s true even outside of
progressive Austin. Next Wave
members are also active in Houston
and El Paso, and AFSCME works
with the Texas AFL-CIO to get another
young workers’ group, Young
Active Labor Leaders (YALL), off
the ground. Meanwhile, the Texas
Democratic Party and progressive
nonprofit groups like Battleground
Texas make an unprecedented effort
to fight back in districts where in the
past Democrats may not have even
bothered to run. All signs point to a
changing face of labor here in Texas,
with a new generation of workers
get excited to make their voices
heard.
Whether or not that means
change in the state Capitol or
simply a reinvigorated grassroots
labor community, Jason Lopez is
optimistic. He’s also realistic about
the work ahead. “A change in the
governor’s office would be helpful
but it wouldn’t change how we
organize. We have to keep working
face to face, solving our individual
members’ issues.”
Send comments to osandbothe@
afscme.org
Local 1624 gets active in Austin by
participating in community events
like this Veteran’s Day parade.
18
PHOTO: TEXAS LOCAL 1624
ANNOUNCING
THE 41ST
INTERNATIONAL
CONVENTION
JULY 14-18 IN CHICAGO
Thousands of AFSCME delegates will gather in Chicago
CREDENTIALS
July 14-18, to determine a path for our union for the
Regular credentials must be postmarked no later than
June 24. Credentials postmarked after that date are
considered irregular, and those delegates will not be
included in the initial Report of the Credentials Committee.
They will be included in any reports after the Convention
votes to seat them.
next two years. At this year’s Convention we will be
Bold, Brave, Determined: ready to roll up our sleeves
and recommit to fighting the attacks on public services
and workers’ rights happening nationwide. In a city
with a rich history of labor activism and progress, we
will make plans to grow the union, build political power,
strengthen the union through internal organizing, and
build our partnerships with allies. Will you be there?
REGISTRATION
Delegate registration will begin 1 p.m. on Saturday, July
12, in Hall B of McCormick Place North and will close 1
p.m., Tuesday, July 15.
RECEPTION
A delegates’ reception will be held Sunday, July 13 in the
Skyline Ballroom at McCormick Place West from 6-8 p.m.
CONVENTION DELEGATES
March 16, 2014, was the earliest date for the election of
Convention delegates, except for those from affiliates that
meet less frequently than quarterly.
PHOTO: CHOOSE CHICAGO
WORKSHOPS
Workshops will be held the afternoon of Monday, July 14,
and the morning of Tuesday, July 15.
ORIENTATION
An orientation for first-time delegates will be held on
Sunday, July 13, 3:30 to 5 p.m.
AFSCME’S GOT TALENT
Do you want to see your name in lights on the Convention
stage? Ten talented finalists will have a chance to perform
on Thursday, July 17 as part of our PEOPLE fundraiser. To
enter the contest, submit a two to three minute video to
[email protected].
CONVENTION ONLINE
Learn more about the week’s events on the convention
section of our website: AFSCME.org/convention
AFSCME.org
19
MANY REASONS
FOR INSOURCING.
NO. 1: KEEP
CHILDREN SAFE
In the Public Interest demands
accountability and transparency.
By Pablo Ros
18
STATES MOVE TO CURB
RECKLESS OUTSOURCING
Introduced outsourcing
oversight legislation
Twelve states have introduced legislation to protect taxpayers by curbing
reckless outsourcing of public services to for profit corporations.
CA, GA, IA, KS, LA, MD, MN, MO, NE, NJ, NM, OK, OR, TN, UT, VT, WA,
and WV have introduced bills that improve transparency and accountability
to keep taxpayers in charge of their services.
20
I
f Renee Moncito had applied
for any public job, especially
one involving children, it’s
likely her past convictions for
stealing and forgery would have
raised a red flag. Instead, in the late
1990s, Moncito founded a privatized
foster care agency, Wings of Refuge,
and applied for a license from the
Los Angeles County Department
of Social Services to recruit and
supervise foster parents. Although
foster care is normally supervised by a
government agency, 28 years ago Los
Angeles County began an experiment
outsourcing this service in the belief
it would save money and better serve
the needs of children.
Moncito had a huge responsibility:
the welfare and wellbeing of potentially
thousands of children. Despite her past
felony convictions, she was issued a
waiver and allowed to work in foster
care, and for years, Wings of Refuge ran
the outsourced foster care operation
with little or no oversight.
It wasn’t until this past October,
after the foster care agency repeatedly failed to submit certain required
financial forms, that it lost its taxexempt status and its $3 million annual
contract.
But in the interim, Wings of
Refuge failed to do its job properly
and children were harmed by abusive
foster parents. One very young child
was repeatedly left outside the house
on cold nights. Others were confined
to their rooms for days at a time. Four
were assigned to a home that reeked
of marijuana. Still others were bruised
with belt lashes across their backs,
legs, arms and buttocks.
According to a Los Angeles Times
investigation, children in homes run
by private agencies were about a third
more likely to be the victims of serious
physical, emotional or sexual abuse
than those in state-supervised foster
care homes.
When services that belong in public
CHART SOURCE: IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST
Visit our Facebook page
for a funny look back at a
serious threat: outsourcing.
facebook.com/InThePublicInterest
hands are transferred to private entities, something else is lost.
FOR SALE: ACCOUNTABILITY
The outsourcing of public jobs – that
is, handing control of critical public
services and assets to corporations
and other private entities – is a bad
idea. That’s because what’s also for
sale in many outsourcing deals are
accountability, transparency, shared
prosperity and competition.
When public jobs are sold to the
highest bidder (or sometimes the only
bidder), taxpayers end up having little
or no say over decisions made by private contractors. There’s no way
for taxpayers to vote out executives whose poor judgment hurts
public health and safety. And,
too often, outsourcing contracts
last for decades, essentially creating a monopoly run by a single
private entity.
Unfortunately, since the
Great Recession began in 2008,
many states and local governments eager for quick cash made
the short-sighted decision to
outsource public services. That
includes everything from parking and prison services to food
stamps and foster care.
But In the Public Interest, a
comprehensive resource center
on privatization and responsible
contracting, is doing something about
it. In states across our nation, AFSCME
has worked with ITPI to educate the
public and our state and local representatives about why it’s important to keep
public jobs in public hands.
We want private contractors
held to the same high standards as
the public employees who serve our
communities. We want to bring accountability, transparency, shared
prosperity and competition – the
foundations of a healthy democracy
– into outsourcing deals. And many
of those jobs that were outsourced in
the last few years? We want them back
into public hands.
would incorporate specific performance criteria and cost parameters
into service contracts; require contracINSOURCING: A NEW TREND
tors to submit quarterly reports to
Today, at least 18 states have introstate agencies; and maintain an online
duced new initiatives to curb the reckdatabase of service contracts that is acless outsourcing of public services, and
cessible, searchable and downloadable.
one of them, Nebraska, has signed such
State legislatures in Oklahoma,
a bill into law. Many of these initiatives
Georgia, Washington and Iowa saw
focus on increasing transparency and
proposals introduced to force private
accountability in public-private dealcompanies that provide public services
ings, and they protect taxpayers from
to open their books and meetings to
bad contracts that lead to wasteful
the public, just like government does. In
spending.
Washington, this is part of the Taxpayer
Bills introduced in state legislatures Protection Act, a bill that would require
in California, Nebraska, Tennessee
demonstrated cost savings of at least 10
percent before a public service
may be outsourced. The bill
cleared the State House but
stalled in the Senate.
MANY STATES AND
In Louisiana, Reps.
Kenneth Havard, John Berthelot
LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
and Brett Geymann introduced
EAGER FOR QUICK
the Privatization Review Act,
CASH MADE THE
H.B. 128, which would demand
SHORTSIGHTED
that private companies providing public services demonstrate
DECISION TO
cost savings without sacrificing
OUTSOURCE PUBLIC
the quality of the service. And it
SERVICES.
would ban law-breaking companies from winning outsourcing contracts.
BAD IDEA.
The same ban against
law-breaking companies may
soon become law in Maryland,
after overwhelming bipartisan
and Kansas would ban contract lansupport sent the bill to Gov. Martin
guage that guarantees corporate profO’Malley.
its at taxpayer expense. Such language
In 2011, a concerned citizen of
is widespread in some public-private
Truth or Consequences, New Mexico,
agreements but fails the public’s best
asked for video footage of certain City
interest. In 2013, In the Public Interest
Commission meetings. But because
found that 65 percent of state and local
the city outsourced this function to a
private prison contracts contained
private company, it refused to hand
minimum occupancy requirements
over the recordings, saying they were
that punished taxpayers for empty
not subject to open records laws. That’s
beds in privately run facilities.
why a new bill – HB 341 – is particularly
In California, Assemblymember
relevant to the state, as it would require
Richard Pan introduced two other bills
private entities that provide public ser– AB 1575 and AB 1578 – that received
vices to follow open records laws. The
bipartisan support in committee and
bill will be reintroduced in 2015.
AFSCME.org
21
Insourcing
Learning from past mistakes is what state
Reps. Mitch Greenlick, Nancy Nathanson and
Paul Holvey are trying to do in Oregon, where
they introduced a bill to protect taxpayers from
bad information technology contracts like the
disastrous outsourcing of its health care website
to computer technology company Oracle.
Some of the strongest protections in the
nation against predatory outsourcing were
introduced in Vermont, where two bills – S 240
and S 623 – would give taxpayers more control
over any service that was outsourced. The first
of these, for example, would make it easier for a
contract with a private entity to be canceled if
the promised quality of services and cost savings
don’t materialize.
HB 4323 in West Virginia would cap outsourcing contracts to five years and establish fair
pay and reasonable benefits for private sector
workers, among other things. And in New Jersey,
a bill introduced by state Sen. Raymond Lesniak
would require state officials to conduct an economic impact study before school services may
be outsourced. Such a study would help determine the direct and indirect costs of outsourcing
to the community as a whole and prevent reductions in pay among workers that force them to
seek public assistance.
In the Public Interest has developed a legislative agenda to reign in predatory outsourcing.
With AFSCME’s help, many of these bills will no
doubt become a reality.
NEVER AGAIN: CONTROLLING
OUTSOURCING IS ABOUT A LOT MORE
THAN TAX DOLLARS
The bills that AFSCME is pushing in state
legislatures across the country will go a long way
toward transferring control of outsourced public
services like Wings of Refuge, the foster care
agency mentioned earlier, from private entities to
taxpayers. As taxpayers, we deserve high-quality
public services at a reasonable cost. We also
demand to know that outsourced services aren’t
endangering the most vulnerable in our communities.
The legislation we promote would increase
accountability, transparency and fair competition. Just as importantly, it would help keep
children safe by improving oversight of private
agencies entrusted with their care.
22
MAKING A
SPLASH WITH
INSOURCING
City lifeguards take over at New
York pool after a private contractor
violates the public’s trust
By Diane S. Williams
Public Employee Press, AFSCME District Council 37
After a four-year campaign that exposed a private
contractor’s hazardous practices and deficient financial
records, AFSCME District Council 37 members took over the
operation of New York City’s $66 million Flushing Meadows
Corona Park pool complex.
Since union members assumed staffing the state-of-the-art
aquatic center from the privateer – in a campaign spear-headed
by DC 37 Assoc. Dir. Henry Garrido and Lifeguard Supervisors
Local 508 Pres. Peter Stein – the Parks Department has hired
about 65 workers in DC 37 positions.
In 2007, Bloomberg commissioned construction of the
110,000-square-foot site to boost his bid for the 2012 Summer
Olympics. When that plan failed, he contracted out the
operation to USA Pools of NY, Inc. in a five-year agreement
that paid the contractor $1 million a year plus 75 percent of
revenues, leaving Parks with just a 25 percent annual share.
“Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg built this plush facility
with taxpayers’ dollars, but instead of staffing it with unionized,
municipal employees of the Parks Department, he contracted
out the day-to-day operations,” said Stein. “Lifeguards and their
supervisors, security, recreation and maintenance jobs were all
outsourced. He handed a jewel to a profiteer who stood to rake
in a fortune.”
The Flushing Meadows Corona Park Aquatic Center is the
largest recreation facility ever built in a New York City park and
the first public pool the city built in four decades. The multistoried facility has a 10-lane Olympic-sized pool with high dive
boards, starting blocks and digital timers for competitions,
panoramic park views, pristine lockers and stadium seating.
The ground floor includes a full-size ice rink.
Stein saw disturbing practices there: USA Pools did
not comply with regulations of the city and state health
departments that require lifeguards to be certified and mandate
minimum staffing levels. At times, the private firm had just two
lifeguards on duty, he said.
“A pool operated and staffed by Parks Department
employees would never have endangered public safety by
engaging in such risky practices,” he said, pointing out the city
DC 37 members proudly and safely staff a New York public acquatic complex.
Health Department charged USA Pools with serious safety
violations.
When the Parks Department considered renewing the
contract for another two years, Stein said, “We decided to go
after the contractor.”
BRINGING THE WORK IN-HOUSE
DC 37 obtained critical evidence about the private
operation after the general counsel’s office filed a request for
particulars under the Freedom of Information Law.
Union attorneys then won a temporary restraining
order that stalled the renewal under Local Law 63, the
Outsourcing Accountability Act, which took effect in 2012 after
DC 37 convinced the City Council to override former Mayor
Bloomberg’s veto.
Although allegedly based in New York, the private
operation had only a post office box there, said Stein.
A Parks Department audit revealed that USA Pools did
not file annual income and expense statements as required
by the contract and prematurely disposed of some records,
making it virtually impossible for Parks to know whether
it actually received all the revenue it was promised. In
PHOTOS: CLARENCE ELIE RIVERA
addition, the firm failed to file state sales tax returns on its
income from the pool.
In an important achievement for the union, it was agreed
that in considering the contract renewal, the agency should
examine the quality of service and not just the cost. DC 37
made a strong case that unionized municipal workers could
do a better, safer job of running the aquatic center.
“DC 37 repeatedly proved that outsourcing public assets
to private control is not an effective way to deliver public
services,” said Garrido, “and we made a very solid case for
contracting in these jobs.”
The Parks Department deserves credit for its willingness
to consider all the factors objectively, concluding the public
would be better served by municipal employees, deciding to
let the USA Pools contract expire, and bringing the work inhouse, Stein says.
“It’s a great victory for the union to finally bring back
these jobs,” said Stein. This is a powerful indictment against
privatizing city services. We turned the tables on the
Bloomberg administration and proved our members could do
the work better.”
AFSCME.org
23
FIERCE
WINTER
WEATHER
BRINGS OUT
THE AFSCME HEROES
By Clyde Weiss
and get in far enough to get his seat belt released and get him
pulled out of the vehicle,” he said. The man was uninjured,
thanks to Holte.
Winter 2014 was one for the record books. Weather conditions
In Atlanta, Ga., school bus drivers earned their hero
played havoc with transportation across the Northeast, Midbadges when snow began falling one January afternoon.
Atlantic, Northwest and South, and may have contributed
Chaos ensued after roads became slick. Accidents spread like
to home fires and other disasters. But we know that when
an epidemic across the metro area, causing commutes to last
disaster strikes, AFSCME members make a difference, at
between four and 15 hours. Drivers had to sleep in their cars,
times even saving lives.
or even in store aisles and churches.
Georgia, Ohio and Minnesota were
While most Atlantans were able to leave
just a few of the states this winter where
their workplaces as snow started to fall,
AFSCME members earned the praise of
Atlanta Public School bus drivers who are
grateful community members for their quick
members of Local 1644 stayed on the job,
responses to unforeseen circumstances. In
transporting children safely home over icetwo of those states, for instance, snowplow
slicked roads.
drivers went beyond the typical call of duty
Since safety continually comes first for
when heroism was called for.
Atlanta Public Schools bus drivers, some
Steve Kinstle and Javier Gallegos,
routes were deemed too treacherous to
members of Ohio Civil Service Employees
continue along or even attempt. Some
Association (OCSEA)/AFSCME Local
students slept in their schools, alongside
11, work for the Ohio Department of
Steve Kinstle, OCSEA
caring teachers.
Transportation (ODOT). Repairing mailboxes
Other students slept in a break room
in St. Mary’s City this January, they saw
at the Metropolitan Parkway bus yard with
smoke from a nearby farmhouse.
caring bus drivers keeping vigil. Through
While Gallegos called 911, Kinstle
their union, bus drivers arranged several
pounded on the front door and told the two
food deliveries so that kids wouldn’t go to
young men inside to grab warm clothes
sleep hungry.
and get out. Both boys escaped unharmed
A day after the snow began, children,
before fire crews arrived.
bus drivers and teachers were still stuck
Two other ODOT plow drivers, Larry Poin schools and a bus yard. Bus drivers
age and Ed Kane, also reacted with heroism
remained hard at work, comforting crying
after spotting a motorist trapped in floodchildren who missed their parents, providwaters in Mahoning County. Kane drove the
ing food for them – caring for their students
plow as Poage crawled out on the vehicle to
Jeff Holte, Local 789 (Minnesota)
at a time when they needed it most.
pull the motorist safely from his car.
Quentin Hutchins captured the sentiment of all his
In Evansville, Minn., snowplow driver Jeff Holte, a
coworkers.
member of Local 789 (Council 5) rescued a driver in February
“We’re just doing our jobs,” he said. “Every day, my kids
after his vehicle rolled into a ditch after he lost control on the
come to me with their personal crises and this time, that crisis
icy highway. Holte radioed for help and ran over to the car. A
was the snow. I’m proud of the
woman was “screaming that her boyfriend was still trapped
work we’re doing.”
in the car packed with snow and he was having trouble
breathing,” Holte told the Daily Globe newspaper.
Watch AFSCME. TV for a segment
Holte entered the car through a back door and dug
on these heroic members.
through snow with his hands “until I was able to belly-crawl in
PHOTOS FROM TOP: WELCOMIA; OCSEA; LOCAL 789 (MINNESOTA COUNCIL 5)
AFSCME.org
25
Legislative
Updates
WE’RE FIGHTING FOR
OUR RIGHTS, RAISING
OUR VOICES
As our pensions, paychecks, and collective bargaining rights
are under attack, AFSCME fights efforts in Ohio to silence
voters at the polls.
By Pablo Ros
In 2011, we
showed
OHIO Gov.
John Kasich
not to mess
with our collective bargaining
rights, and defeated his effort
to eradicate them.
In February, Kasich signed
into law two anti-voting bills
that are restrictive in nature
and are intended to suppress
turnout in the November
elections. One of the bills
eliminates the so-called
“Golden Week,” when people
can both register to vote and
cast an in-person absentee
ballot on the same day;
59,000 people voted during
“Golden Week” in 2012.
A second bill prohibits
individual county boards
of election from sending
unsolicited absentee ballot
applications and makes it
easier to reject absentee
ballots if they’re missing
certain information; 13,000
ballots were thrown out in
2012 without this rule.
The third bill establishes
new and unnecessary
requirements for casting
a provisional ballot and
shortens the window to make
corrections. It also allows
for provisional ballots to be
26
discarded if information is
missing or there is an error;
9,000 ballots were thrown
out in 2012 without these
rigorous standards.
As if these damaging
measures weren’t enough to
suppress the vote of those
who rely on early voting,
Ohio Secretary of State Jon
Husted issued a directive
to eliminate early in-person
voting on Sundays and
evenings, further restrict
Saturday voting and forbid
early voting after 5 p.m. This
will also discourage urban
voters on Election Day by
creating huge lines in some
neighborhoods.
AFSCME fought hard
against these efforts and
will continue to do so –
because this isn’t the first
time Governor Kasich tried
to silence the people of Ohio,
and because the people will
always have the last word.
In 2014, AFSCME fights
efforts to silence workers all
across our nation.
In MISSOURI and
PENNSYLVANIA, antiworker forces are trying to
arm themselves with union
kryptonite in the form of
“right-to-work” (for-less)
and “paycheck protection”
measures that would weaken
a union’s ability to collect
membership dues.
In Missouri, HB 1770
and HB
1617 would
bar labor
contracts
from
requiring all employees to
pay union dues and would
force unions to obtain written
authorization from workers
to collect fees. The bills were
endorsed by the House
Workforce Development and
Workforce Safety Committee;
if they clear the Legislature,
they would go on a statewide
ballot for final approval by
voters in August.
In the Keystone State,
we continue
to fight a
proposal
that would
threaten
our resources by forbidding
the automatic deduction of
dues from our members’
paychecks. Though the
legislation remains in
committee, Gov. Tom Corbett
already said he would sign
it if passed. In January, this
threat prompted more than
2,000 men and women to
rally against the legislation
at the Capitol in sub-zero
temperatures.
Attacks against our
members’ pensions are occur
nationwide, including in the
South and West. In Phoenix,
ARIZONA, anti-worker
groups
submitted
signatures
for review
to place a
measure on the November
ballot that would close our
members’ pensions and
replace them with definedcontribution or 401(k)-style
retirement plans, which
are much riskier. Called the
“Phoenix Pension Reform
Act of 2014,” it fundamentally
undermines the retirement
security of public employees.
The proposal is similar
to a ballot initiative we
successfully defeated in
Cincinnati in 2013.
Also in Arizona, we
successfully fought and
defeated a paycheck
deception bill, S.B. 1355,
which would have prohibited
union deductions from public
employee paychecks without
the employee’s written or
electronic authorization every
two years. The bill would
have crippled public sector
unions and their ability to
represent workers on the job.
And in
FLORIDA,
an attempt
to steal
from our
members’ retirement savings
is underway by right-wing
lawmakers seeking to
impose a “cash-balance”
pension plan on new public
employees. The “cashbalance” plan is much riskier
than the current plan and
would reduce our members’
guaranteed retirement
benefit. It’s unnecessary,
as the existing Florida
Retirement System is one of
the best funded in the nation.
Send comments to
[email protected]
AFSCME
Across America
Memphis
TENNESSEE
City Approves
Historic
Retirement
Measure for
1968 Strikers
The Memphis City Council in December
paved the way for the retirement of 40
sanitation workers over the age of 65. They
are veterans of the 1968 strike known to
Memphis sanitation workers – members of AFSCME Local 1733 – demonstrate for
many by their famous signs proclaiming dignity during their famous 1968 strike.
“I Am A Man.”
The Council’s vote creates a supplemental retirement
part of a broader restructuring of solid waste services and
program that will allow them to retire from their physically
collection practices.
demanding job, which they performed faithfully for decades.
A portion of the savings generated through these
“We’ve committed the majority of our working lives to
changes, including the “sweat equity” from the longer
making sure Memphis’ waste is taken care of,” said Cleo
routes, will support this benefit, which will provide a worker
Smith, one of the men who went on strike to demand
at 65 years of age an annual benefit of $400 per year of
dignity for himself and his fellow workers. “We’ve suffered
service, capped at 30 years or $12,000.
on the job injuries but pushed through year after year. Now,
“We won a huge victory but the fight’s not over,” said
we’re finally getting the respect we deserve.”
AFSCME Local 1733 Pres. Janice Chalmers. “Now we’ve got
Memphis sanitation workers were covered only by
to come together to restore the solid waste fee of $2.24 a
Social Security and a small contribution by the city to a
month in order to fully fund the supplemental retirement
savings plan. Their union, AFSCME Local 1733, fought for
program. It’s a small price to pay for sanitation workers to
the historic reform for the past several years. Under the
be able to retire with dignity. We’re committed to keeping
reform plan, the local agreed to longer collection routes as
up the fight.”
Albany
NEW YORK
Opposing a
Race-to-the-Bottom
Budget
Nearly 1,500 AFSCME members from across New York recently
converged this March on the state Capitol to oppose Gov. Andrew
Cuomo’s race-to-the-bottom budget that benefits the wealthiest 1
percent at the expense of working families.
Members of all six AFSCME New York unions – District Councils
35, 37, 66, 82, 1707, and CSEA Local 1000 – called on state Assembly
members and senators to protect vital services while opposing tax
PHOTO: 1968 MEMPHIS SANITATION WORKERS
cuts that would benefit the wealthy, in a state that already has the
worst income inequality in the nation.
Workers told legislators the proposals outlined in Governor
Cuomo’s race-to-the-bottom budget would benefit only the wealthiest
200 New Yorkers and lead to significant reductions in funding for vital
services like local schools, road and bridge maintenance, and police
and fire departments, among others.
In the last four years, municipalities and school districts cut
more than 90,000 public sector jobs, including teachers, bus aides,
police officers, fire fighters, snowplow drivers and other vital
service workers.
The governor’s proposed elimination of the bank tax would
mean hundreds of millions of dollars in additional tax cuts for Wall
Street financiers, who would enjoy the lowest corporate franchise
tax since 1968.
AFSCME.org
27
AFSCME
Across America
Seattle
WASHINGTON
Through His Union, a
Personal Victory Over
Outsourcing
How many private electrical contractors does it take to
screw in a light bulb? Too many to justify taking work away
from South Seattle Community College employees who do
it for less, says Dan Sutcliffe, the college’s lead electrician.
He recently proved his point with an unfair labor practice
settlement.
Sutcliffe, a steward of Local 304 (Washington Federation
of State Employees (WFSE)/AFSCME Council 28), said he was
determined the college should not get away with unilaterally
outsourcing. Also, he felt his coworkers needed to know this is
the kind of thing the union does for them routinely.
“When you start something, you can never let fear or
bullying get in the way,” Sutcliffe said. “No matter, if you
know you’re right, you don’t back down. You know you’ll win
eventually.”
Earlier last year, Sutcliffe discovered the college
outsourced to private contractors a job replacing a manual
switch with an automatic switch on an emergency backup generator, as well as conduit and wiring work for a
wastewater pump.
The work constituted contracting out bargaining unit
Phoenix
Dan Sutcliffe, member of WFSE Local 304, fought an outsourcing
scheme and won an unfair labor practice settlement.
work – work his position should have done faster, better and
at lower cost.
“You ask anyone on campus about the quality of my work
and they’ll say it’s the best, bar none,” Sutcliffe said. “Even
management.”
Under the Dec. 5 settlement, the college agreed to follow
a policy requiring it notify the union of potential outsourcing
so members can raise concerns and enforce the rules, laws
and collective bargaining agreement. In addition, Sutcliffe’s
supervisor will meet with him at least weekly about upcoming
electrical service projects.
Sutcliffe, 74, said he challenged the outsourcing to show
newer and younger employees that their union fights for
them. “When I leave, I want to make sure no one is messed
with,” he said. “The union is here.”
ARIZONA
Community
to City Hall:
Bargain Fairly
Public workers, community members
and elected officials rallied outside City
Hall, urging Phoenix decision makers
to bargain fairly with the city’s public
workers, who provide essential services
to local residents.
Local 2384 and Local 2960 were in
contract negotiations with the city since
28
Phoenix Locals 2384 and 2960 rally for
safer working conditions, outside City Hall.
early January, but city officials failed
to address issues to improve working
conditions, safe staffing levels, and
suitable training for employees that
provide essential services.
“We prepared for negotiations for
months and approached bargaining with
a fair strategy for the advancement of
the city,” said Frank Piccioli, president
of AFSCME Local 2960. “Unfortunately,
management failed to match our efforts.
The city budget shouldn’t be balanced
on the back of employees.”
Other community supporters
included AFSCME Retirees; the
Arizona AFL-CIO; Letter Carriers Union;
Bricklayers; Painters; Arizona Education
Association; American Federation
of Teachers; Pipefitters; Sen. Steve
Gallardo; former Phoenix Councilman
Michael Johnson; Councilwoman Kate
Gallego; Electrical Workers Local 640;
and Transport Workers Local 556.
PHOTOS FROM TOP: TIM WELCH; JOE WITT
Miami-Dade County
FLORIDA
Workers Win Back
5 Percent of
Their Salaries
In the latest example of how unions raise wages for
working people, Miami-Dade County workers in
February won back 5 percent of their salaries that were
cut. The pay restoration was a big win not only for Local
199 members but for the communities that rely on the
valuable public services they provide.
“I haven’t been able to go to the dentist in the past
three years,” said AFSCME member Tonya Bennett, who
works for the Clerk of the Courts. “We’re just struggling to
make it. I fought back for my family, my co-workers and my
community.”
The cut, from the workers’ base pay, went toward group
health insurance. Mayor Carlos Gimenez kept insisting the cut
was necessary despite a $42 million surplus in the city’s health
care trust fund.
Indianapolis
INDIANA
Keeping Pensions Public
and Out of Corporate
Pockets
State and public employees from across Indiana helped
defeat a pension privatization bill this winter by pressuring
lawmakers to do the right thing for working families.
Wearing AFSCME green and chanting “Don’t privatize
my pension,” they made sure retirement annuity payouts
remain in the hand of the state retirees who earned them.
The AFSCME members of Indiana-Kentucky Organizing
Committee 962 were vigilant about any proposed
outsourcing legislation.
Outsourcing management of the retirement account
annuities could amount to a nearly $40-million giveaway
to an outside administrator of the fund and cut payouts
to nearly 5,000 workers who retire after this June 1. If the
system is outsourced, new retirees could have their pensions
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: ALINA KU-KU
Though Miami-Dade County
commissioners voted in favor of
AFSCME workers on two prior
occasions, Mayor Gimenez was
able to veto their efforts. This time,
however, the commissioners supported
city employees in a nine-to-four vote, overturning the
mayor’s veto.
“All AFSCME members came together to fight for a more
secure future for our families,” said Christopher Jones, a
seaport enforcement specialist for the city for 11 years. “The
police union stood in solidarity with us. Now it’s time to
continue the fight for full pay restoration.”
AFSCME members attended every budget hearing
and County Commission meeting. They sat down with
commissioners and delivered flip-flop sandals to those who
switched their original “yes” votes to “no” votes.
The action to eliminate the forced contribution was a
model of coalition building and union solidarity. Local 199
was joined by the Miami-Dade County Water and Sewer
Employees (AFSCME Local 121); the Transportation Workers
Union; Jackson Memorial Hospital Employees (AFSCME Local
1363 and SEIU Local 1991); Miami-Dade Police (PBA) and
Government Supervisor’s Association.
skimmed for profits and operating expenses by as much as
41 percent.
Most corporations who administer funds indicate 10.5
percent is taken as “profit” and another 30 percent is used for
“operating expenses.”
“Anyone who supports outsourcing this annuity plan
is supporting corporate welfare,” said Michael Torres, an
employee of the Indianapolis-Marion County Library and
president of AFSCME Local 3395. “They support giving
millions of dollars of Hoosier taxpayer money away to their
cronies on Wall Street.”
Besides, the current system is nearly fully funded, in
addition to being cost-effective and working well for retirees
and the taxpayers of Indiana, according to many legislators.
“There is no reason to outsource the current system,” said
Tim Lanane, Senate minority leader. “The push to outsource
this annuity is a solution looking for a problem. That’s why
maintaining the current system has bipartisan appeal.”
Legislators from both sides of the aisle in the House voted
unanimously to put any discussion of pension outsourcing on
hold through 2019. The Senate has yet to take any action on
any pension bills.
AFSCME.org
29
AFSCME
Across America
IOWA
Governments frequently try to
balance their budgets on the backs of
workers. When union contracts protect
members from such cuts, non-union
workers take a bigger hit. AFSCME took
their fight to arbitration and won. NonConnie Brooks, Iowa
union staff had no such protection.
Council 61
Connie Brooks, an education program consultant in Des
With both job protection and
Moines, joined AFSCME last December because she wanted
insurance premiums driving their concerns, Brooks said, it
to stop her agency from violating the law.
was the “perfect storm” to build interest in joining AFSCME.
As a former professor of public administration with a Ph.D. Brooks and some of her colleagues approached Council 61
in public policy, she knew something was wrong when her
and a representative invited her to a meeting. Soon she was
employer treated non-union-represented workers differently
helping prepare and distribute flyers explaining to others
than those with an AFSCME-negotiated contract.
in her unit the financial costs and job protections they were
“We were told we were at-will employees,” she said,
denied by not being organized.
referring to rules that allowed people in her unit to be
They needed at least 30 percent of the unit to sign cards
dismissed for any reason. Such instability was unsettling and
expressing a desire to have a union election, and would need
reminiscent of the “spoils system” that handed out jobs as a
51 percent of the votes to win. Building a database of employreward for supporting some politician or manager, rather than
ees was the first step. When they were certain they would
based on merit.
have the majority votes needed to win, they got the necessary
She and some other employees in the Iowa Department
signatures. After some legal wrangling with management, the
of Education are funded through federal grants. If the grants
election board certified AFSCME as the representative for apexpired, or are defunded by Congress, they could all lose
proximately 450 state education employees. It was the largest
their jobs, regardless of their years of service to the state. At
bargaining unit election won by the council since the 1990s.
the same time, the agency could hire new workers off the
Brooks said her employer now must afford her and her
street for similar positions. This would not only devastate the
colleagues their due process rights provided for by law,
employees but would hurt the quality of education.
along with basic seniority rights for transfers, and bumping
“The only way we knew to stop them was to unionize,”
and recall rights in times of layoff. “Losing our jobs and our
Brooks said. What helped them succeed, however, was the
health insurance is unacceptable,” she said. “We have come
state’s effort to have its employees pay 20 percent of their
together to ensure job security for all of us. That makes me
health insurance premiums.
feel more secure.”
Des Moines
Joining AFSCME to
Protect Their Rights
Little Rock
ARKANSAS
Going the
Other Way on
Pensions Hint:
The Right Way
Following years of hard work through their
union, 900 Little Rock city workers switched this
year from an unsustainable, risky 401(k) retirement plan to a stable pension plan, a move that
will bring them greater retirement security.
30
Local 994 members watched with pride
as the Little Rock Board of Directors voted
unanimously last August to support a defined
benefit plan for city workers. This is believed
to be the first time a municipality made the
switch from a 401(k) to a pension plan. Members are making the switch, with relief.
“I want this historic win to inspire other
city workers to step up and form their own
union with AFSCME,” said Nita Moser, who
worked for the city for 12 years and is the
president of Local 994.
In the past, many workers returned to
work after retiring because they simply could
not make ends meet on the fluctuating values
of their retirement account income. Now, the
guessing game is over and the ever-fluctuating stock market won’t determine if these retired workers can pay their bills. The amount
retired workers receive monthly is based on
years of service and their final salary.
Local 994 led the charge, spending years
applying pressure to the board of directors.
AFSCME members attended countless Little
Rock Board of Directors meetings, gathered
petition signatures and met with the board.
“This is a huge win for our members,”
Moser said. “Now we’ve got to come
together to keep our contract strong. We’ll
never stop fighting.”
PHOTO: IOWA COUNCIL 61
Sacramento
CALIFORNIA
Gov. Jerry Brown
vetoed the bill last fall,
but Assembly Speaker
John A. Perez will reintroduce his legislation
this year. UDW and Interpreting for California
will work hard to get
Imagine going to a hospital for treatment but
it passed again – and
your first language is not English and your
signed into law.
Rallying for recognition of medical interpreters.
doctor has trouble understanding you. It’s the
An estimated 3 milcase for one in five residents of California, which doesn’t have
lion people may need some language assistance to navigate
an interpreters program. And it’s what members of UDW
the health care system. The interpreters know first-hand that
Homecare Providers/AFSCME Local 3930 intend to change.
their skills are critical.
Interpreters are needed to help those with limited com“The work we do is a public service,” said Korean-speaking
mand of English understand medical instructions and guide
interpreter Suk Hee Yoo. “We do this in order to help poor
them through the medical bureaucracy.
people – working people – live healthier and longer lives.”
Working through a group called Interpreting for California,
Making it even more critical to have a trained interpreter
the union last year documented the stories of families that
workforce is the fact that an estimated 35 percent of Califaced critical medical issues without an interpreter to help.Then
fornians who are newly eligible for Medi-Cal (the state’s
they persuaded the Legislature to pass a bill to:
Medicaid program) – under the federal Patient Protection
• Require the state to apply for federal matching funds.
and Affordable Care Act – need access to an interpreter. And
The money – approximately $270 million – would create
early reports show that Spanish speakers enroll in far fewer
approximately 7,000 interpreter jobs within a decade.
numbers than the state requires for health care reform to be a
• Make those interpreters eligible to join a union.
financial success.
Diagnosis: Too Few
Medical Interpreters
Remedy: Organizing!
Hibbing
MINNESOTA
See What Solidarity
Brought to
This Local
After negotiations broke down on a new contract
with the City of Hibbing, Minn., AFSCME Local 791
members and their families didn’t wait for a strike date
to take to the streets. Instead, they stood together in
freezing temperatures for a solidarity rally at City Hall
to let the public know they weren’t offered a fair deal
for the valuable, quality services they provide.
The result was a better contract and an averted strike.
The rally brought out AFSCME members from five locals
in support of their 65 sisters and brothers affected by the
negotiating impasse. Union steelworkers and building trades’
union members also joined the rally, in a sign of broader labor
movement solidarity.
PHOTOS FROM TOP: CHRISTIN GRIFFIN; MINNESOTA COUNCIL 65, LOCAL 791
The proactive show of community
support convinced city negotiators
that reaching a fair deal with Local
791 was in the city’s best interest.
The new agreement includes a
total wage package increase of 9.5
percent during the next three years,
and an 80/20 health premium split
that goes into effect in 2016. The city
originally offered only a minimal
wage increase after only a 1 percent
raise during the last two years. The
contract covers AFSCME members
working in nearly every department,
including sanitation, administration, parks, public works,
cemetery and waste treatment.
“Both sides realized the importance of coming to an
agreement and avoiding a strike,” said Steve Giorgi, associate
director of Council 65. “This community appreciates the good
work our members do and the support they offer us makes a
difference at the bargaining table.”
AFSCME.org
31
SPRING 2014
Still Speaking Out LOUD for
Our Right to Organize
T
hree years ago this winter, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker effectively erradicated
the rights of public service workers in his state by scrapping collective
bargaining rights. AFSCME members rose up in protest, filling the Capitol in
Madison.
Our fight continues, now spread to many other states where right-wing lawmakers
push anti-worker legislation. In Pennsylvania this January, AFSCME members from
across the Commonwealth joined thousands of other workers to fill the Capitol in
Harrisburg (pictured here).
They came to speak out against a scheme to weaken our rights by severely limiting
how we pay our dues and donate to the political causes in which we believe. We call
this “paycheck deception.”
When workers’ rights are threatened, AFSCME members raise their voices, plant
their boots on the ground and fight back.
When we’re organized, we’re strong.
When we’re united, we win.
—Clyde Weiss
Stay up to date on the
news that affects you at
AFSCME.org/blog.
PHOTO: HEATHER SHELLEY
P E RIOD ICA L
WORKS
The Magazine of the American Federation of
State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO
WORKS
The Magazine of the American Federation of State,
County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO
Still
Speaking
Out LOUD
for Our
Right to
Organize
T
hree years ago this winter, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker
effectively erradicated the rights of public service
workers in his state by scrapping collective bargaining
rights. AFSCME members rose up in protest, filling the
Capitol in Madison.
Our fight continues, now spread to other states where
right-wing lawmakers push anti-worker legislation. In
Pennsylvania this January, AFSCME members from across
the Commonwealth joined thousands of other workers to fill
the Capitol in Harrisburg (pictured here).
They came to speak out against a scheme to weaken
our rights by severely limiting how we pay our dues and
donate to the political causes in which we believe. We call this
“paycheck deception.”
When workers’ rights are threatened, AFSCME
members raise their voices, plant their boots on the ground
and fight back. When
we’re organized,
we’re strong.
When we’re
Stay up to date on the
united, we win.
news that affects you at
—Clyde Weiss
at AFSCME.org/blog.
PHOTO: HEATHER SHELLEY

We`re hitting the streets, proving there`s power in numbers

Transcription

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